Antigay
name-calling may lead to higher levels of trauma for
students, regardless of sexual orientation, according
to a study at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
The researchers
analyzed the extent to which being targeted with antigay
names over a week would affect 143 seventh graders. The same
group was surveyed again the following year to find
that "being the victim of homophobic
name-calling is a serious concern and significantly predicts
several negative psychosocial outcomes," the
researchers wrote. For males, receiving the
name-calling was linked with anxiety, depression,
personal distress, and a lower sense of school belonging.
Females reported higher levels of social withdrawal.
The
students' sexual orientations were not included in
the research.
"Existing
research has underscored the traumatizing effects of
homophobic victimization for gay and lesbian students,
and this investigation suggests that homophobic
victimization can also be detrimental to heterosexual
students, further underscoring the relevancy of this issue
for teachers, administrators, and school counselors,"
the study's authors wrote. (The
Advocate)
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